Trade lanes
How long each lane takes, which way the ships go, when it peaks, and what goes wrong on it. Transit figures are ranges across services rather than a schedule, and each page says when it was last reviewed.
Lanes are grouped by the market they discharge into. If you know the origin rather than the destination, the export calendars list the lanes out of each country alongside its windows.
Every lane at a glance
Shortest to longest. The spread across these lanes is wide enough that transit time is a sourcing decision rather than a freight detail.
| Lane | Transit time in days |
|---|---|
| Vietnam → Hong Kong 3–7 days | Vietnam → Hong Kong: 3–7 days |
| Thailand → Hong Kong 4–8 days | Thailand → Hong Kong: 4–8 days |
| Morocco → United Kingdom 5–8 days | Morocco → United Kingdom: 5–8 days |
| Morocco → Rotterdam 5–9 days | Morocco → Rotterdam: 5–9 days |
| Ecuador → United States 6–12 days | Ecuador → United States: 6–12 days |
| Egypt → Rotterdam 8–13 days | Egypt → Rotterdam: 8–13 days |
| Australia → Hong Kong 11–18 days | Australia → Hong Kong: 11–18 days |
| Brazil → Rotterdam 12–17 days | Brazil → Rotterdam: 12–17 days |
| Peru → Philadelphia 12–18 days | Peru → Philadelphia: 12–18 days |
| Turkey → United Kingdom 12–18 days | Turkey → United Kingdom: 12–18 days |
| Colombia → Rotterdam 13–18 days | Colombia → Rotterdam: 13–18 days |
| Costa Rica → Rotterdam 14–19 days | Costa Rica → Rotterdam: 14–19 days |
| Chile → Philadelphia 14–21 days | Chile → Philadelphia: 14–21 days |
| Mexico → Rotterdam 15–21 days | Mexico → Rotterdam: 15–21 days |
| South Africa → Rotterdam 16–22 days | South Africa → Rotterdam: 16–22 days |
| South Africa → United Kingdom 16–22 days | South Africa → United Kingdom: 16–22 days |
| Ecuador → Rotterdam 18–24 days | Ecuador → Rotterdam: 18–24 days |
| India → Rotterdam 18–25 days | India → Rotterdam: 18–25 days |
| Australia → United States 18–26 days | Australia → United States: 18–26 days |
| Peru → Rotterdam 22–28 days | Peru → Rotterdam: 22–28 days |
| Chile → Rotterdam 24–32 days | Chile → Rotterdam: 24–32 days |
| Chile → United Kingdom 25–33 days | Chile → United Kingdom: 25–33 days |
| New Zealand → Philadelphia 26–35 days | New Zealand → Philadelphia: 26–35 days |
| New Zealand → Rotterdam 32–42 days | New Zealand → Rotterdam: 32–42 days |
Northern Europe
12 lanes, shortest transit first.
- Morocco → Rotterdam 5–9 days How long Agadir and Tanger Med to Rotterdam takes, when the lane peaks, and why the real competitor on this route is a lorry.
- Egypt → Rotterdam 8–13 days How long Alexandria and Damietta to Rotterdam takes, why the whole lane peaks in one quarter, and what that concentration costs you.
- Brazil → Rotterdam 12–17 days How long Pecém, Natal and Salvador to Rotterdam takes, why the journey starts hundreds of kilometres inland, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- Colombia → Rotterdam 13–18 days How long Cartagena, Santa Marta and Turbo to Rotterdam takes, and why a lane with no season has a different set of failures.
- Costa Rica → Rotterdam 14–19 days How long Moín to Rotterdam takes, why one terminal carries a whole country's fruit, and what that concentration means for your programme.
- Mexico → Rotterdam 15–21 days How long Veracruz to Rotterdam takes, why the coast you load from decides the transit, and what goes wrong on a lane most Mexican fruit never uses.
- South Africa → Rotterdam 16–22 days A direct Atlantic run with no canal, into the port that redistributes South African citrus across the continent. How long it takes and what goes wrong.
- Ecuador → Rotterdam 18–24 days A year-round programme lane rather than a seasonal one. How long Guayaquil to Rotterdam takes, and why a slipped week lands fruit at the wrong ripeness.
- India → Rotterdam 18–25 days How long Nhava Sheva and Mundra to Rotterdam takes, what a Cape routing does to a grape programme, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- Peru → Rotterdam 22–28 days How long Callao and Paita to Rotterdam takes, which way the ships go, when the lane peaks, and what goes wrong on it.
- Chile → Rotterdam 24–32 days How long Valparaíso and San Antonio to Rotterdam takes, which of the two routings your booking uses, when the lane peaks, and what goes wrong on it.
- New Zealand → Rotterdam 32–42 days The longest reefer lane we publish. How long Tauranga to Rotterdam takes, which way round the world it goes, and why only two crops can do it.
United Kingdom
4 lanes, shortest transit first.
- Morocco → United Kingdom 5–8 days How long Agadir and Tanger Med to the UK takes, why the border matters more than the sea leg, and what goes wrong on a lane this short.
- Turkey → United Kingdom 12–18 days How long Mersin and İzmir to the UK takes, why cherries sit right on the edge of what sea freight can carry, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- South Africa → United Kingdom 16–22 days The shortest long-haul produce lane into the UK — no canal, no transshipment on direct services, and a citrus season that fills it every winter.
- Chile → United Kingdom 25–33 days How long Valparaíso and San Antonio to the UK takes, which ports handle the fruit, and the border step that makes this lane different from Rotterdam.
North America
5 lanes, shortest transit first.
- Ecuador → United States 6–12 days The shortest produce lane we publish. How long Guayaquil to the US East Coast takes, and why the risk sits after the ship rather than on it.
- Peru → Philadelphia 12–18 days How long Callao and Paita to Philadelphia takes, why the reefer is running a regulatory treatment on the way, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- Chile → Philadelphia 14–21 days How long Valparaíso and San Antonio to Philadelphia takes, why the whole port runs on this one season, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- Australia → United States 18–26 days How long Melbourne and Sydney to the US West Coast takes, why the reefer is running a treatment on the way, and what goes wrong on the lane.
- New Zealand → Philadelphia 26–35 days How long Tauranga and Napier to Philadelphia takes, why the East Coast costs a week more than the West, and what the counter-season fruit competes with.
Hong Kong
3 lanes, shortest transit first.
- Vietnam → Hong Kong 3–7 days The shortest lane we cover — a few days at sea, where paperwork and terminal dwell decide the outcome rather than the voyage itself.
- Thailand → Hong Kong 4–8 days A short lane where the risk sits at the ports rather than at sea, and where two days is a third of the voyage. Transit, durian season, and what goes wrong.
- Australia → Hong Kong 11–18 days How long Melbourne, Sydney and Fremantle to Hong Kong takes, why the market is usually somewhere else, and what goes wrong on the lane.